New ‘Son of God’ Trailer: Behold the Man

It looks as if 2014 will officially be the year that Hollywood takes another crack at reviving a truly venerable film genre: the biblical epic. While the (anxiously) anticipated Noah and Exodus will soon tackle big-budget retellings of the Old Testament, the lower-profile Son of God looks to evoke the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth.

Edited from the New Testament sections of the 2013 History Channel miniseries The Bible, Son of God is the rare release that originated in another medium before its theatrical run. A new trailer for this release is clearly intended to drum up a final head of steam before Son of God enters the box office fray at the end of the month.

Truth be told, this newest preview for Son of God is rather inferior to the an earlier, more evocative trailer released two months ago. Whereas that preview portrayed Son of God as a heartfelt and exquisitely shot look at the Gospel story, this shorter trailer seems to trip over itself checking off the boxes of an already well-known tale.

As such, one has to wonder whether or not Son of God will end up a worthy addition to the canon of biblically inspired movies. The Bible received decent (though not overwhelming) critical accolades, but will its recut and expanded theatrical spinoff fare as well? More to the point, will Son of God reach the same artistic and/or box office heights of The Passion of the Christ, The Last Temptation of Christ, and The Greatest Story Ever Told?